What Brothers Are For
by Ellivia22
Summary: I close the door to my cabin, my smile wide. Sometimes Cody really drives me crazy, but it's times like this where I'm so glad to have him as my twin. Zack/Cody NOT twincest. R&R


(A/N: Surprise! I'm back! The semester is over, but graduation isn't until Friday. But because I love you guys so much I decided to put up another story for you. I really hope you like it. Please review. Love, Ellivia22~)

Disclaimer: If I owned Suite Life I wouldn't ever let the series end :)

****What Brothers Are For****

****By: Ellivia22****

****Cody****

I leave my cabin, feeling slightly bored. It's an early Saturday morning and surprisingly I have nothing to do. I'm ahead in all my subjects so I'm ready for the semester to be over in a month. Graduation is just around the corner. I don't have a shift until noon. I'm running out of ideas of what to do with my free time.

An idea pops in my head. I'll ask Zack if he wants to play a couple quick games of air hockey before our shifts. True it's 10AM and Zack sleeps in until 10 minutes before his shift, but I decide to go see him anyway. Besides, what's the point of being a younger brother if I can't annoy my older sibling?

I open the door to my brother's cabin. "Rise and shine, older brother! It's a beautiful day outside, a perfect day to be up. And an even better day for a nice game of air hockey before work."

No response. That's surprising. Usually Zack would yell at me for waking him up, especially this early in the morning. I move closer. There is no movement in the bed, making me feel slightly nervous. I pull the covers off my brother, but no reaction except Zack curling up tightly because of the cold. He's still asleep.

I sit next to him on the bed where I can see his face. Zack's face is pale, tearstained, and scrunched up like he was in a lot of pain. "Zack," I barely manage to choke out. For the first time this morning I feel a dull ache in my chest. I shake his shoulder gently. "Wake up."

Zack's eyes flutter open, much to my relief. However my relief is short lived. My twin's blue eyes are red and have lost their spark which was there yesterday. He looks absolutely miserable. I push back his blonde bangs, which are drenched in sweat. "What's wrong?" I ask gently.

"Nothing Cody," his voice his tired and hoarse. "Just go away."

"You can't lie to me, Zack. You know that. The expression on your face is exactly like the one you wore when Mom told us we couldn't keep the frog we found when we were five." Zack smiles weakly from the memory, then the smile disappears. "Tell me. What happened?"

He struggles to speak. A fresh tear falls down his face, followed by more. I stroke his hair gently in hopes to soothe him. It's always what he did for me whenever I had a nightmare. I hope it has the same effect. "I was late to work yesterday. Mr. Moseby fired me," he barely manages to whisper a moment later.

I completely understand now. Though it kills me seeing my brother hurt like this, I can't say I didn't see this coming. Mr. Moseby has given him lots of chances. Zack just never took Mr. Moseby's threats, or anything else seriously.

"You don't have to say it. I know you're right," he mumbles, squeezing his eyes shut. The pain in his voice is so strong it's twisting my insides. "I'm a screw up, a failure."

I wince. I can't deny the fact that over the years I've called Zack those words whenever we were fighting, but I never meant it. Zack isn't a screw up. He just doesn't think sometimes. The fact that he actually believes that he is one tears my heart to shreds. Zack may act like the macho one all the time, but I know him. I know all about his hopes, his dreams, his fears. I know that sometimes his self esteem can be just as low as mine. Now it's my turn to cheer up my older twin. I just don't know where to start.

" Zack, " I begin, but he turns his back on me in attempts to ignore me.

I sigh and get off the bed. He obviously is not in the mood to listen right now. Maybe he'll be more willing in a little while. I'll check on him later. I have to do something first. Something that will hopefully help.

CZC

An hour later, I take a deep breath and enter the lobby of the ship. I don't know why I'm so nervous. Probably because I'm going to ask Mr. Moseby for a favor. I know Mr. Moseby doesn't like me or Zack, but I have to try. I'm doing this for my brother.

I swallow the lump in my throat and approach the front desk where Mr. Moseby is working diligently, like always. "Mr. Moseby, can I talk to you?"

Mr. Moseby looks up from his desk and meets my gaze. Annoyance is on his face, which is not unusual. "About what?"

"Zack."

His eyes narrow. He must know exactly what I'm referring to. "I'm sorry, Cody, but I've made my decision."

"Just hear me out," I beg desperately. Mr. Moseby stays quiet, willing to let me continue. "I know that Zack messed up. I know he's always messing up and doesn't deserve another chance. But I'm really hoping that you will give him one."

I pause for a second, trying to gather my thoughts. Then I look back to Mr. Moseby, refusing to break eye contact. "Mr. Moseby you've known us for six years, but you haven't really gotten to know us. I know Zack can be selfish, annoying, and I highly doubt he's used his brain. But he's a good person deep inside. He has the potential. He just acts like he doesn't care about the consequences to hide his insecurities. When you fired him, he completely lost it. He's so withdrawn it's scaring me. Please reconsider."

Mr. Moseby continues to stare at me. "You done?"

I swallow hard, feeling like a complete failure. I was trying to help my brother but to no avail. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now get out of here."

"Yes sir."

I head back to Zack's cabin to check on my brother. I doubt he's feeling any better, but I'm going to try once more to lift his spirits before I start my shift in half an hour.

****Zack****

My stomach rumbles, but I ignore it the best I can. I should go eat something since I haven't had anything for at least 24 hours. I don't want to though. I don't want to do anything that requires me to leave the safety of my bed. I can't stop thinking about yesterday's events.

I really did it this time. I really fucked up. I curl up in a tighter ball in hopes that I will disappear. It would be better for everyone if I did. I don't belong here. I only cause trouble and hurt the people I love.

Normally I wouldn't care that I lost such a menial job. But when Mr. Moseby fired me, it was like a punch in the stomach. It made me realize that maybe I should try a little harder at becoming more successful, more a better person. That's what I've been trying to do all my life, but I can never do it. I always end up screwing up. A fresh tear rolls down my face as a memory comes back to haunt me.

__My hand shook as I held onto my cellphone. "What do you mean the car got destroyed?" my dad bellowed from the other end. "What in the hell did you do?"__

__"It wasn't my fault!" I protested. I knew it wasn't true. What happened to the car was completely my fault, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "A crane dropped London's crate on it."__

__I heard a disappointed sigh from the other end. "This is why your mother and I promised the car to Cody in the first place, Zachary. We knew you weren't responsible enough. You never think before you do something. You are such a screw up!"__

__I swallowed back a sob. The tears started falling rapidly down my face, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I felt as though my father had just struck me. He had never spoken to me like that before. "I'm sorry, Dad," I barely managed to whisper.__

__"I expect you to pay me back in full."__

__"Yes sir."__

__I hung up the phone and collapsed on my bed. The tears continued to fall, but I refused to stop them for once. The door of my cabin opened suddenly. I quickly wiped the tears off my face before anybody saw. It was my twin brother. Just seeing him made me feel worse. True I loved my brother more than life itself, but I still couldn't stand the fact that Mom and Dad loved him more than me. A broad grin was on his face.__

__"Zack get out of bed. We're going to do something that's definitely going to cheer you up!"__

__I wondered at first how he knew I was depressed, but figured it was because of our connection. Against my better judgment, I got out of bed and approached him. "What is it?" I asked as normally as possible.__

__Cody's grin widened. "London's going to take us car shopping to replace the one that got destroyed. She's getting us both one!"__

__I couldn't believe that London was going to do something so nice for us. I forced a broad grin on my face and allowed Cody to pull me out of my cabin. However, one word kept ringing over and over again in my head.__

Screw up

Why? Why do I always have to screw up? Why can't I do anything right? Why can't I be more like…Cody?

Cody. I feel a surge of guilt flood my insides by the way I reacted towards him this morning. He was just trying to help, but I didn't want to deal with any kind of human contact. He came by again, but I pretended to be asleep. I just wish people would leave me alone. I don't want to cause any more trouble. I wish I could be someone that people could be proud of. I wish so badly that I could be like my twin.

__But you're not good enough__ a voice whispers in my head. I choke on a sob.

*****knock knock*****

I ignore the knocks on my door. I don't care who it is. I just want people to leave me alone.

"Zachary it's Mr. Moseby. I insist that you open the door."

My heart sinks even lower, if that's possible. Mr. Moseby is the last person I want to see right now. He's probably here to tell me that my grades are too low to stay on the ship.

"Zack," Mr. Moseby says in a more gentle voice. "Please open the door."

Using all the strength I can muster, I pull myself out of bed. I throw on a shirt and shorts and wipe my wet face. Then I stumble to the door. I might as well get it over with. I open the door, my eyes focused on the ground. I'm too ashamed to look at him. "Yes Mr. Moseby," I mumble.

I can feel Mr. Moseby's eyes on me as he looks me up and down. I must look like hell, because his voice is full of concern. "Zack, we've been at each other's throats for six years. Though you may not know it, but you are important to me. I consider you a friend. I know you have the potential to be someone great. That's why I've decided to give you another chance. But I must warn you that this is your __last __chance otherwise Mr. Tipton will have my head."

My head snaps up and stare at the older man, unable to believe my ears. "R-really?"

"Really." Though Mr. Moseby is still maintaining his professional stature, I can see the friendship in his eyes. He's not lying. "I expect you at the juice bar at 10AM sharp tomorrow."

I forget all about being the macho one and not showing emotion. I hug Mr. Moseby tight. The pain that was consuming my insides is gone replaced with absolute relief and joy. I have another chance! Another chance to prove to myself and the world that I'm not a screw up. I let go of Moseby. "Thanks Moseby! I promise I won't let you down!" Mr. Moseby allows a small smile. "What made you change your mind?"

He turns to leave. "You can thank your brother."

I close the door to my cabin. It's a good feeling to have the ability to smile again. Sometimes Cody really drives me crazy, but it's times like this where I'm so glad to have him as my twin.

CZC

****Cody****

__When are people going to learn to use only one towel at a time?__

I head back to my towel station, rolling my eyes. Customers are so annoying. Sometimes I really hate my job. I can't wait for college so I'll be rid of this horrible job.

"Cody."

Just as I turn around, arms wrap around me for a tight hug. I am unsure of what to do at first when I realize who is hugging me. Zack doesn't hug me very often, much less in front of everybody on the Lido Deck. At the same time, I'm so glad that he's out of his room. I hug him back, then pull away slightly. A huge grin is on Zack's face, the sparkle back in his blue eyes. I raise my eyebrow.

"Moseby gave me my job back!"

__Wow my talk actually worked.__ "I'm glad. "

Zack's grin widens if that's possible. The feeling of appreciation and happiness is strong from his side. "Now I have the chance to prove myself. Thank you, Cody. I really appreciate what you've done for me. "

I smile warmly at my twin. "That's what brothers are for."

Zack hugs me again, this hug tighter than the one before. "I love you, Codes."

"I love you too, Zack."

After we pull away, Zack walks out of the Lido Deck. I go back to folding towels, my smile just as wide as my twin's. He's going to be just fine.

****The End****

****Thanks for reading. Please review :)****


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